Tonnes of oral care waste diverted from landfill by over 1000 schools nationwide

School students are making war on waste by recycling all their used toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers through a nationwide competition diverting hundreds and thousands of oral care items from landfill.

The Colgate Community Garden Challenge is underway with more than 1000 schools from all over Australia competing to win one of five recycled community garden sets and monthly prize draws of 60 upcycled pencil cases.

The results achieved from last years’ Colgate Community Garden Challenge saw 200,000 pieces of oral care waste diverted from landfill, 813 schools signed up to the program and 78,000 votes entered online supporting local schools.

Five schools will win a community garden set – three schools who collect the most waste and earn the most votes online and the other two winning schools will be drawn from a prize draw. There will also be seven monthly prize draws awarding the monthly winner with 60 upcycled pencil cases (valued at $340.80). Schools who sign up late still have a chance to win as long as they send in at least one shipment between now and September.

Each recycled community garden set awarded will include: three garden beds, two custom-made benches, three customised garden plaques made from recycled oral care waste, plus a $500 Bunnings Warehouse voucher to buy seeds and plants (Total RRP $33,677.15). Besides showing how recycled materials can be used as a sustainable alternative to virgin plastic.

So far 30,000 votes have been cast online and more than 40,000 pieces of oral care waste have been shipped to TerraCycle. TerraCycle will then sort, shred, wash and melt the waste down into plastic pellets to be used in the manufacture of new products.

To join the competition, schools are encouraged to visit www.terracycle.com.au/colgategarden to register, access posters and resources to get started and watch their competition ranking on a digital leaderboard. Individuals can also vote for their nominated school at www.terracycle.com.au/colgategardenvoting. The competition closes on 30 September 2019.